Dark Days coming to the Beacon

When the idea of writing a commissioned piece for the Cheltenham Jazz Festival came the way of star bass player Neil Charles he knew exactly what he wanted to do (and who he wanted to do it with). “The Arts Council put me forward and it was a case of I really like the subject … I hadn’t read loads but I’d seen a bunch of film adaptations from his books and of course it’s his 100th anniversary”

The person Neil is talking about is the writer, campaigner and philosopher James Baldwin. As a gay black man he cast a uniquely individual figure in the American civil rights movement of the mid-20th century, eventually moving from New York to Paris while continuing to write and speak brilliantly against racism. As the centenary of his birth in 1924 approached Neil was able to attend talks and find out more: “I’d been thinking that I knew quite a lot but I discovered I actually didn’t really know anything!”

Dark Days: Pat Thomas (pic: Tim Dickeson)

He focused in on Dark Days, a pocket sized book of just fifty pages comprising three short essays, and read it over and over again, eventually drawing out selected quotes to be the backbone of a piece blending composition and improvisation. Dark Days – coming to Bristol Beacon on Monday October 7 – was a great success when it premiered at Cheltenham, not least because of the quality of musicianship on offer. For the words he’d picked MOBO-nominated vocalist Cleveland Watkiss, a renowned improviser, and for the music two longstanding collaborators (and free jazz veterans) pianist Pat Thomas and drummer Mark Sanders. “I’m very honoured to have all these musicians – they’re all my teachers in their own way. I am the new kid on the block, really – there are times when I come off a gig and I’ve heard Pat on piano and I’m thinking what could I have done better? But it’s ‘no man, you were fine’, that’s Pat’s sense of humour: that’s him teaching me  that I can live in his world a little bit.

Dark Days: Mark Sanders (pic: Tim Dickeson)

Neil recalls how, coming from a classical background via jazz and swing  his introduction to free jazz 15 years ago was daunting. Mark Sanders had been there and was a big help, however: “There were no charts, we just went in but before the gig Mark said ‘we’re all pebbles next to the shore. You just have to throw the pebbles in – it doesn’t matter how big or small – and the ripples will spread and cross over’.”

After that Neil’s involvement in improvised music grew alongside a wide range of other styles – as well as performing with contemporary jazz greats like Shabaka Hutchings and Jason Yarde he’s a member of the excellent Nu-Soul band Gabriels, a regular member of Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke’s band and even has a pseudonymous career in US music production.

Dark Days: Cleveland Watkiss (pic: Tim Dickeson)

So what has he gained from learning more about James Baldwin? “Oh quite a lot, especially to always be present in what you do, and how the support of a circle of friends is important. And dignity when confronting things: there’s a paragraph in the book where he says he learnt a lot from just being calm and expressing himself, why you don’t need to get angry.” The writer has even influenced the music itself, thanks to video of his famous 1965 Cambridge Union debate for the motion ‘Has the American Dream been at the expense of the American Negro’. “The flow when Baldwin was talking was just so rhythmical and articulate … and it’s there in his writing, too.”

Having played the Lantern before with Elaine Mitchener as part of the Bristol New Music Festival Neil is familiar with the Hall’s chequered history. He’s very aware of the resonance of bringing Baldwin’s words to the building. “I almost feel like – have I been booked because they want to change the narrative? Or because I’m really good? Whatever, I’m happy to share my two pence with all that and help things move forward. It’s really nice to be recognised in this way.” It was said jokingly, of course, and he should rest assured that he was booked because he, his band and the Dark Days experience are more than just ‘really good’.

Neil Charles’ Dark Days are at Bristol Beacon on Monday October 7